Dr. Small, LAc, DAOM began practicing Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine in 2009 with one central goal, to use these tools to help alleviate suffering in our community. Over the years, she has honed her skills to help many attain a greater level of health and vitality, overcoming barriers to wellness and achieving their own personal health goals. With an integrative approach and the principles and practice of East Asian Medicine, you are steadily brought to a greater state of balance in which the body can heal itself.

The providers at Wellness At The Center continue this tradition of addressing the whole human in a one-on-one holistic practice, providing specialized care with acupuncture and an array of approaches as required by the patient’s needs.

Depending on the provider you select to work with, these may include energetic balancing, Traditional Chinese Medicine, trigger point acupunture, myofascial release, cupping, other manual therapy, dietary therapy, food intolerance examination, or the use of supplements and herbal medicine.  These tools help those suffering from chronic or acute illness, injury or other conditions requiring professional holistic guidance. Time is taken to activate healing, address anxiety or depression, analyze food or environmental triggers of inflammation and disease. Solid protocols to get each patient back on  track with a healthier, happier state of being.  A path to greater health awaits, and it can start right here.

doctor taking a female patient's pulse.

Leigh completed clinical internships at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU), Central City Concern, and the OCOM Clinic. She is a participating provider with most insurance companies. Licensed to practice Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine by the Oregon Medical Board, with a post-graduate Master’s degree in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (MAOM) from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) in 2008 and then completing an additional intensive two year program earning a Doctorate in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine in 2019. She holds a Diplomate in Acupuncture from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). 

The Doctoral program at OCOM had a specialization in Women’s Health and Geriatrics. The focus of her capstone research was on the treatment of neurological disorders and neuro-ortho rehabilitation. 

Publications:

– A practical resource guide for providers on treating post-stroke speaking and swelling disorders which can be found in OCOM’s library reserves here: Post-Stroke Dysphagia and Aphasia: Etiology and Treatment in Biomedicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine .

– A case study of a patient with aphasia 10-years following a patient’s life changing stroke, found here: Ten Years After: A Case for Using Xing Nao Kai Qiao Acupuncture to Treat Post-Stroke Aphasia.

Dr. Small works Collaboratively with the providers at Wellness At The Center to provide patients with the very best care available. She came to discover acupuncture partly through an interest in Taosim. Taoist philosophy involves observation of patterns found in nature, the detection of these patterns in the environment and in the human being, with modification of action to be in accordance with that natural fabric which connects everyone and everything in the universe, also known as weft and wane, or Tao. This empirical study with observation and then proper action still resonates so strongly even after years of studying and introspection.

Through this practice, there are countless changes in those who engage the medicine, freeing themselves from pain and entering a greater level of wellness.